game of the month
QT
By BRIAN McWILLIAMSQ.T is an inventive arcade game boasting three different screens, each with six increasingly nerve-wracking levels of difficulty. The BASIC program runs on all Atari computers with 24K memory for cassette or 32K for disk. Antic Disk subscribers, RUN "D:QTBAS"
Meet Q.T., a cute little bird who lives inside a dangerous arcade game.
If you care about wildlife preservation, you'll help Q.T. survive six increasingly
difficult levels of game play on three different screens.
The first screen is crowded with ice cubes as Q.T. races
the timer to put four corner blocks in their assigned positions.
Q.T. gets points for eating cubes, or kicking them against the side walls
with the joystick button. If the timer runs out before the (inedible)
corner blocks are all correctly placed, "Bye bye, Q.T." There's less time
at each higher level.
Your score is displayed in the upper left corner, the
number of remaining lives is at the upper right. Displayed at the
lower right are all bonus objects collected. High score also remains
displayed until the computer is turned off.
A bonus object waits on a platform at the right of the
second screen, while a deadly snapping jaw threatens from the left.
Q.T. stands at the bottom of the playfield and can only move left or right-
while catching objects falling from the top. Every missed object
brings the snapping jaw closer; every object caught brings the bonus object
nearer Oh yes, Q.T. must dodge some of the falling objects-birdie-crushing
I-beams.
Q.T. takes to the air in the third screen, trying to pop
as many balloons as possible. Each balloon carries an item worth
points. Q.T. moves left or right with the joystick. Pressing
the fire button causes Q.T. to flap. Without flapping, QT glides
down. Balloons move faster in the higher levels.
Q.T. can die by gliding off the screen, or by getting
crushed with a falling object. If all six levels of the game are
survived, Q.T. will be safe at last on the "You Win!" screen.
Type in the Q.T. listing, check it with TYPO II, SAVE
a back-up copy and RUN the game. Your screen will go blank for about
10 seconds and then display the title screen. Press the joystick
button to start. And be sure to press [RESET] before re-running the
game.
Brian McWilliams is 17 and a senior at Alpena High School in Michigan, where he's able to take quite a few computer classes. He's currently working on an action game called "Droids."
Q.T. PROGRAM TAKE-APART
10 Dimension
variables
20
Get high score
50-90 Title page
100-160 Main module
200-650 lst board
800-1030 2nd board
1050-1630 3rd board
1600-1630 Death routine on 3rd board
1640-1710 Q.T. introduces new bonus item
1800-1840 "You Win!" routine
7000-7310 Subroutines
7020 Erase screen
7100 Display score
7110-7120 Display lives
7130 Display time
7190-7260 Death routine
7270 Poke high
score into memory
7300-7310 Takes care of timer
10000-10060 Changes character set
10070-10075 Data for USR call
10080-10180 Character set Data
Q.T. VARIABLE LIST
A$ Holds
value of high score before POKEing it into memory
MOVE$ Holds ML subroutine
for moving the character set
A
Reads stick position, loop variable, and other various uses
B,X,Y Loop variable and
other various uses
BC
Bird color
BI
Bonus item color
BIC Bonus
item counter
BLL Balloon
color
BLLY Balloon Y-position
BONUS Bonus accumulator
BRD Board
counter
C
Used to check an object's path for obstacles
C1
Use instead of "l"
CC
Check corner blocks' path for obstacles
CHANGE Reads Data for new character
set
FR
Failing rate and rising rate for objects or balloons
HI
Holds high score
IC
Item color for object to fall or item attached to balloon
INSET Internal character
code for character to be changed
IP
Object or balloon X-position
IV
Item value
JUNK Variable used
for USR call
LIVES Number of lives
left
LL,LR,UL,UR Checks corners on first board
NH
Number of objects caught
NM
Number of objects missed
O
Used instead of "0"
OFF Used
instead of "7290"
SCORE Current score
TIME Time remaning
XP
X-position of Q.T.
XX
Loop variable
YP
Y-position of Q.T.
Z
Value of bonus item
Listing 1: QT.BAS Download